Slowly Getting There
by Dragon Eye3307
Summary: Paul told himself that he wanted to have Ash travel with him, while he challenged The Battle Frontier, to learn from him. It had absolutely nothing to do with the occasional fluttering in his chest when talking to him, or wanting to be closer to him. With Ash's help, he was slowly getting there, even if the end destination wasn't exactly what he had in mind.
1. Chapter 1

Hey! Dragon Eye3307 here! This is my first fanfiction so nice things are greatly appreciated. I am doing this thing with my good friend Twilight Joltik. She has been a great help to me. Without her support I probably would have never got off my butt to write this. Check out some of her stuff! Please. She is a very talented and motivated writer.

i don't own pokémon. I almost wish I did but it would probably go down in flames. Literally.

Anyway!Enjoy!

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><p><strong>Paul's POV<strong>

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"Paul!"

I turned to see Ash standing at the top of the stairs.

He had beaten me but, oddly, I wasn't bitter. I felt lighter somehow. Like a huge weight has just been lifted off of my shoulders.

The sunset painted the forest and the stairs around us in a golden hue. Ash's eyes appeared golden in the evening light. I stood there. My hands in my pockets.

"Paul! You're leaving already?" Ash asked. He was breathing heavily as if he had ran the whole way here.

"I lost." I stated simply.

"What are you going to do now?" Ash said this slowly and softly. He lowered his head so his hat covered his eyes.

"I don't know... I see now that I need to rethink my whole training style. I've realized, after losing to you, That I need to create a stronger bond between myself and my pokémon." Ash looked at me again and smiled. "I was thinking about going to Kanto and formally challenging the Battle Frontier."

"Oh. That's cool. The Frontier Brains will definitely be able to test your new style."

"Yeah. Good luck in the finals... Ash."

Ash's face lit up and he gave me the most beautiful, adorable smile ever. I felt my face heat up.

"Thanks Paul!"

I turned away from Ash and continued to walk down the stairs.

"Paul! Wait!" Ash called out, chasing after me.

"What?!" I screamed a bit too harshly in my embarrassment. I whirled around to find myself face to face with Ash.

He grabbed my hands quickly in order to not let me run away. I reassembled my facial expression from my flushed one to one with a 'idon'tcareaboutanythingyouhavetosayandletgoofmyarmsandjustletmeleave' kinda look.

"Paul. Please stay and watch me in the finals. It would mean a lot to me if you were there to cheer me on." Ash smiled. How could I resist that smile? Well, to answer your question, I couldn't and nor will I ever be able to.

"Fine. I'll be there. Now let go of me." Ash smiled and did as told.

"Come on! Let's go!" Ash called back as he ran up the stairs back toward the arena.

Little did I know what I had just gotten myself into.

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><p>Yeah. Sorry. It's pretty short. But I thought it was cute. I will probably post the second chapter in about a week. Look forward to it!<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guys! I am back and I brought gifts! Well... A gift.

Btw! I didn't write this chapter. My friend Twilight Joltik did. Check out her stuff! Plz.

Thanks Candykaykay2001, Twilight Joltik, and caird51 for reviewing!

I don't own Pokémon! If I did, Ash would be as gay as a basket of kittens riding a sparkle unicorn over a rainbow.

Enjoy!

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><p><strong>Paul's POV<strong>

Ash lost his battle. I wasn't sure whether to be mad at him for losing after he'd beaten me or mad at that stupid Tobias for having the nerve to use a Darkrai and Latios against a trainer without Legends. Either way, I was plenty upset about the development, and didn't say a word through all of the final battle, which that jerk managed to win.

I knew Ash would be leaving soon, so I tried to find him. I wasn't sure why, but I knew I couldn't let him leave without knowing I wasn't happy with him. He was fairly easy to find, loitering around the ferry with that annoying girl and their other friend. The girl started giggling whenever she saw me.

"Hey Ash," she chuckled, nudging her friend. "Looks like someone wants to talk to you."

Dark brown eyes looked around and met mine. I wasn't sure why, but my face started burning and Dawn started laughing even more. Ash only smiled at me, which definitely didn't help my redness. "You lost," was all I managed to get out.

Ash gave a nod. "Yeah. Too bad, too. But hey, we got two of his Pokemon down! That's more than anyone else! Besides, all of my Pokemon did their very best, so I can't be upset."

"Pika, Pika!" came an almost automatic chirp from the Pikachu on his shoulder.

"I'll be leaving soon," I muttered. "Just wanted to, uh-"

"Tell Ash goodbye?" Brock finished.

I only gave a nod, as I feared my burning cheeks were revealing too much already.

With a rather menacing grin, Dawn added "So, Ash told us you were going to go to the Battle Frontier."

"I guess so," I replied with a shrug.

"Awesome!" Ash cheerily exclaimed. "I was going to go back home for a while, so since that's on the way, we should go together!"

The subtext was clearly "With Dawn and Brock," but the offer was tempting. I told myself I was only interested in his offer because I wanted to learn from him to get stronger. That ruse wouldn't have worked on a five year old. "Four people travelling together," I mused. "Seems crowded. I'll pass."

It killed me to say that, but I didn't think I could put up with that girl or Captain Obvious for too long.

"I-I'm not going," Dawn stammered out. The surprised looks given to her by her companions made it clear this was the first they'd heard of this. "Uh, sorry, forgot to tell you, a magazine called me about getting Buneary into modeling, and I couldn't say no!"

"Yeah, um, I have something I need to do too, Brock muttered after Dawn shot him an odd glance.

Ash seemed unaware of it, but their message was clear: they were trying to put us in a situation where the two of us would be together without any interference. I wasn't sure whether to hate them for this or be grateful, as I wanted to be alone with him as well. Wait, why would I want that? I only barely tolerated him, why would I want to travel with him?

I decided to leave them be. "Ash, I'll see you in Viridian City." I spat out, hoping he'd see it as an invitation. "Don't keep me waiting."

"Okay!" He called back as I walked away. "See you there!"

Cursing the fluttering in my chest, I got far away and tried to figure out how to get to Viridian City as quickly as possible.

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><p>I love this chapter! It's so fluffy! I love fluff! Fluff fluff fluff. Hope you guys liked it and I think Twilight Joltik will be writing the next chapter also. After that I will try to get off my butt and put some ideas on paper... Or my phone.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Guys. It is like midnight right now (for me) and I had time so I'm gonna post this. This chapter was written by Twilight Joltik.

Thank you to caird56, Candykaykay2001, and briddle.2012 for reviewing! Sorry I didn't reply. I was too lazy. :p

I don't own pokémon. If I did, I would have to have a movie about the zombie apocalypse except with pokémon. That would be awesome!

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><p>I didn't bother to tell Reggie I was leaving for Kanto. Though I told myself it was because I only wanted to surprise him when I came home with all seven symbols, it probably had more to do with the fact that I didn't want to admit who I was hoping to be travelling with. I only called him to change out my Pokemon, back to a team I was more used to using. Torterra, Magmortar, Weavile, Honchkrow, Electivire, and Ursaring, they'd be the ones I'd take with me to battle the Frontier Brains. Ursaring… The fact that I was bringing him had absolutely nothing to do with the fact I caught him while with Ash.<p>

Yeah, I didn't believe myself when I muttered it quietly after I hung up with Reggie either. I simply walked towards the front desk of the Pokemon Center and asked the Nurse Joy if she knew how to get to Viridian City as quickly as possible.

Giving a warm smile, she handed me a brochure for a ship headed to Vermillion City. "From there, Viridian City is only a few days' travel if you're quick about it," she told. "Why, are you meeting your girlfriend there?", she asked with a joking smile.

I was suddenly very aware of the burning of my cheeks. "N-no!", I denied quickly. "He's not- I'm just meeting a friend!" Huh, it felt weird to call Ash that. I never thought I would ever call anyone that, really. People either annoyed me or were put off by my personality, so much that I couldn't remember ever having any real friends. It might have had something to do with Mom dying and Dad leaving, and Reggie had told my therapists I had trust issues, but I didn't think either was the case. I just wasn't a people person.

"I was just teasing you," assured the Nurse Joy. "I'm sure your boyfriend is looking forward to seeing you, so you might want to hurry up and-"

Giving a snarl of indignation, I screamed "He's not my boyfriend, and this isn't funny!", my cheeks burning hotter.

"I know, I just thought you ought to hurry, considering the boat leaves soon," she stated.

Turning around, I saw a ship boarding in the port. I ran to it, showing my trainer ID to the man taking non-trainer passenger's tickets. By the time I was on board, I was a bit out of breath, but grateful that the ships from Lilly of the Valley were free for trainers. After all, with the money the hotel room at the league had cost, I didn't think I could afford a normal ticket. It departed soon, and as I gazed at the slowly shrinking island, I thought I saw a figure observing me from the window. Probably that annoying Nurse Joy that wouldn't shut up about me and Ash.

Turning away, I looked absentmindedly at the water. Ash would probably get to Viridian City first, but Honchkrow would remember the way. Flying on him would be faster, and perhaps doing that could shorten the time. Once more, some voice in my head asked me why I cared. I didn't know that, but my heart started beating faster as I imagined our next meeting. If we could travel together, why did I want to smile when I imagined that? Just learning from him, why did the prospect excite me? With all this blue sea between us, I had plenty of time to figure out that answer.

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><p>I love the Nurse Joy. I always thought it was scary how the Nurse Joys knew who the characters were in the animetv series. Lol. Need sleep.

Oh ya! Does anyone ship Soma x Takumi from Shokugeki no Soma? I do!


	4. Chapter 4

I was kinda behind but I got it done! I promised every Thursday until it's done. K people?

Thanks to caird56 and Candykaykay2001 for reviewing!

I don't own Pokémon. If I did, Gary Oak would wear a shirt that said; "If I can do it, don't even try".

Enjoy!

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><p>The journey to Viridian City was pretty uneventful. I got off the boat at Vermillion and flew to Viridian. Once I arrived, I stopped at the pokémon center. There, I waited for Ash to show up.<p>

"Paul!"

I looked up. I saw Ash and Pikachu running up to me. I felt my face heat up. I raised a hand in greeting.

"Hey Paul." Ash said with a friendly smile. Pikachu hopped onto Ash's shoulder.

"Pii!" It chirped.

"Hey. Uh... Ready to go?" I asked. My voiced cracked a bit at the end but I covered it with a cough.

"You want to go right now? It's kinda late. How about we stay here tonight and take off in the morning?"

I looked outside. The sun had set and its light was fading quickly. I hadn't even noticed the time go by.

"I'll take that as a yes and get us a room." Ash walked off to find Nurse Joy with Pikachu in tow. I took a seat and waited for Ash to return.

He didn't take long. Within a few minutes, Ash had gotten a rooms and had come back to get me. He grabbed my hand and led me to our room. We set out stuff down and prepared for bed.

After a few hours, the room was filled with the sounds of Ash snoring and Pikachu breathing softly. I laid on my bed staring at the ceiling, just thinking. So much had changed within the past year. I went to Sinnoh with full intention of winning the Sinnoh league and going on the challenge the Elite Four of Sinnoh. As it turned out, Ash had stopped those plans dead in its tracks. He seemed to do that a lot. Not only in battles, just by being around me Ash could always rile me up.

My initial nervousness slowly faded into a gentle, soothing feeling. That night, I dreamed about my previous journey in Sinnoh and I looked forward to my new journey in Kanto, with Ash.

I woke up with the sun shining in my face. I looked over at Ash's bed. It was pristine. Nicely made and everything. But no Ash. I leapt out of bed and got ready in 2 minutes, a new record for me. I briskly walked into the lobby of the pokémon center. Please, I don't run. I started to walk out the front doors when Ash called my name.

"Paul! Where are you going!?"

"Uh, looking for you? Where were you?"

"Sorry. I got up early and didn't want to wake you. I got a phone call from Prof. Oak."

"Seriously? What did he say?"

"He wants me to go back to Pallet." I thought that was it. He was going to leave me and go back home.

"Do you mind if we stop there real quick. I think he just has an errand he needs me to do for him." Ash continued.

"Okay sure." Inside, I was jumping for joy. I was still going to get to travel with Ash and meet the Prof. Oak.

Ash grabbed his stuff and Pikachu hopped onto his shoulder. I took Ash's hand and we were off!

Then I had realized what I had done. I immediately let go of his hand. I felt my face heat up.

"Paul? You okay?"

"Yeah. Perfect."

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><p>And they're off! Warning! Next Chapter! Contains Gary Oak! Hehehehehehehehehe<p> 


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